“Nay, King o’ the Summer.” McKale stepped forward. “The human device records things exactly as they happen. What ye saw was real and true. I swear it.”
His head slowly swiveled to his daughter in disbelief. She shrank back.
“There is more, Father. This—” she waved her hand at the screen, “—contraption, does not reveal all. What I did was necessary. I can explain.”
“You are born of me, Princess Khalistah, however you are as bound to my laws as all others.”
“But of course, King Father.”
“You would interfere with my plans to continue my race of cobblers?”
“I had a plan which would ensure—”
“Silence!” The ground and trees shuddered at the King’s booming voice.
The FFG pressed her lips together.
“You would use forbidden magic against a brother Fae?”
We all looked at the Prince for the first time and found his disdainful stare pointed at the Princess.
“I admit it was wrong,” Khalistah said to her father. “I was overcome by a rare fit of temper when I discovered the two humans were attempting to trick me and harm my reputation. We had an agreement.”
“An agreement that you would take a human consort?” her father bellowed.
A Fae girl made a gagging sound and the FFG’s cheekbones filled with a rosy blush.
“He has ever wanted to please me,” Khalistah explained. “He would be my pet, just as other Fae have.”
“That is not how it appears. This is a disgraceful moment, daughter of mine.”
She stepped toward him, pleading with her eyes and words. “Please, Father. Erase the memories of these witnesses so they will not know my shame. I had a weakness for the boy. Even you cannot help but feel affection toward the wee folk!”
The Prince let a sound of disgust escape and the Fae took steps back. Their faces were filled with fear at the prospect of having their memories taken, and aversion to the idea of affection toward humans.
“I am displeased, Daughter. You have left me no choice but to do that which I abhor.”
Khalistah shook her head and held out her palms. “Not me, King Father!”
“You, especially.” His voice sent a heated gust through the clearing and we all covered our eyes against it.
Martineth looked rattled for the first time all night. “My love. Do as you must to them. But not I.”
Just as she reached out for him, the King lifted his arms, encompassing each of the Fae before him. They all stiffened as if locked in place. The Summer King’s eyes flipped through colors, and sparks of static light flashed from his outstretched fingertips like a summer storm. Warm winds whipped around us. McKale and I stepped away, terrified. The Fae beseeched their King with their eyes, but their mouths could not move.
The King roared, “Ar oscailt intinn!” and sudden silence fell.
The wind settled and we watched as the Summer King wove his magic over the Fae, carefully saying the exact words to erase the video from their minds. He then paid special attention to Khalistah.
“You will forget you ever longed for the Leprechaun son of Brogan. Instead, you will now find yourself feeling affections for the Prince.”
I wanted to fall to the ground and weep.
The King’s attention shifted toward Rock. He turned his hands and the grasses unwound, retreated back into the earth. He beckoned Rock, who came forward with stiff movements.
I saw Cassidy try to rush to him, but Mom and Dad both grabbed her.
“Do you fancy yourself in love with the young Mason girl?”
Rock turned his head to her, and watching her face with a pained, heartbroken expression, he nodded.
The Summer King clenched his jaw. We were all so still. The relief I felt moments before had slipped away as tension filled my body again.
“I cannot have your kind interfering with those who would actually work. You will forget you ever loved her. You will forget any time you had with her. Your kind are not welcome at this ceremony.”
Rock’s eyes went blank and his body slackened. Mom pulled Cassidy’s face to her chest and she let out a horrible, muffled screech. I felt like I might be sick.
The Summer King ignored all this, done with the drama. He flicked his wrists and the spell ended with a zap. The Fae rocked back on their heels, stunned. Rock turned and ambled back toward the trees, glancing back once to stare at the scene with puzzled wonder. And then he was gone, along with the other Clour. Cass buried her face into the crook of Mom’s neck. It took all of my will-power not to run to her and embrace her.
The King painted a smile across his face for his people. “Ah, well, it seems as though the so-called human magic has failed. Our only entertainment shall be this merry dancing and the binding itself.”
The Fae shared disappointed nods, all seeming as if they’d missed something but were too afraid to ask. Khalistah gazed around at the decorations with bemused interest. For one fearsome moment her eyes landed on McKale and I, but slid past without remark. I exhaled and felt McKale relax next to me.
Brogan bustled forward.
“Would our honored guests care to dance, then?” he asked.
“Go on,” the King said, waving a finger at his people. “Enjoy the hospitality.”
The Prince stepped forward and extended a hand to Khalistah. She curtsied and took his hand. Martineth still stood there, seeming stunned and distrustful, until the King reached for her hand and kissed it, causing her to relax.
“Will you not dance, my love?” he asked. “You know how much I enjoy watching.”
She gave him a seductive smile, and without a word turned to the dance circle.
As the Fae filtered out to dance among the Leprechaun, the King gave his attention to McKale and me. His frown and shifting eyes caused my heart to falter in its rhythm. I felt the warmth of my family as they joined behind us. I reached back and found Cassidy’s hand, pulling her close behind me. I felt her face lean against the back of my shoulder. There was nothing I could do to help or comfort her. Rock’s memories of her love might be gone, but the fact that her memories of him would remain was heartbreaking.
The King eyed our group and I focused on him now. Would he punish us?
His voice was pinched and frightening. “You have brought shame to my daughter and forced my hand.”
“King of Summer,” McKale began. His head was bowed. “We ne’er wished to bring shame to the Princess or yer people. We were powerless against her demands and didn’t know what else to do.”
The King pondered this. “Khalistah is quite keen on getting what she wants. How unfortunate that her desires led her astray. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. But know this…” His eyes flipped through a rainbow of colors. “I allow you to keep memory of this day only because you were wronged. Let us hope you will never find yourselves in a position where you feel you must fool our kind again.”
McKale dipped his head. “Thank you, King. I am so very sorry fer all that’s happened. Truly.”
“Humans are often careless of their affections,” the King responded. “Such is the nature of beings whose lifespan are so short… and speaking of that, I have another matter with which to discuss.” We stood still and quiet, waiting for him to continue. “While you were in Faerie my consort and I discussed a proper gift for your binding, considering how fond you seem to be of one another. I understand that you will live considerably longer than your binding partner—am I correct?”
“Er… yes, King, sir.” McKale scratched his cheek.
McKale would live approximately seven hundred years longer than me.